Conference presentations included intensive care unit-related experiences of patients and families, psychosocial aspects of post-intensive care syndrome, the evolution of diaries, implementation strategies for intensive care unit diaries, special topics (eg, legal issues, electronic vs handwritten diaries, pediatric diaries, and time of handover), and psychosocial recovery.
  Children with complex chronic conditions present unique challenges to the pediatric intensive care unit, including prolonged length of stay, complex medical regimens, and complicated family dynamics.
 
  To examine perspectives of pediatric intensive care unit health care providers regarding pediatric patients with complex chronic conditions, and to explore potential opportunities to improve these patients' care.
 
  A prospective mixed-methods sequential explanatory study was conducted in a tertiary medical-surgical pediatric intensive care unit using surveys performed with REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) followed by semistructured interviews.
 
  The survey response rate was 70.6% (77 of 109). Perspectives of health care providers did not vary with duration of work experience. Ten semistructured interviews were conducted.  https://www.selleckchem.com/products/10-dab-10-deacetylbaccatin.html  Eight overarching themes emerged from the interviews (1) the desire for increased formal education specific to pediatric complex chronic care patients; (2) designation of a primary id providers.
  Families experience high levels of stress during a loved one's critical illness.
 
  To provide an overview of current evidence on the use of journal writing as a coping mechanism for family members during a loved one's critical illness in a neonatal, pediatric, or adult intensive care unit.
 
  Five databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, APA PsycArticles, and Health Source Nursing/Academic Edition) were searched to identify studies examining the benefits of journal writing for family members of critically ill patients. Eight eligible studies reported data from 426 relatives of critically ill patients.
 
  Regarding quality assessment, the quantitative studies met 73.1% of relevant quality criteria, whereas qualitative studies met 81.3%. Mixed-methods studies met 82.4% of quantitative and 55% of qualitative criteria. Various key themes were identified communication and understanding, connection to the patient, emotional expression, creating something meaningful, and the importance of pictures and staff entries. Ovdiary and an optimal approach for doing so in this population.
  This article presents an overview of the burden of peripheral intravenous catheter infections and current evidence-based recommendations for prevention.
 
  Peripheral intravenous catheters are ubiquitous in most health care settings, fostering an acceptance of the peripheral intravenous catheter as benign and inevitable. This device, however, is far from benign, with reported failure rates as high as 90% from complications such as infection and phlebitis. Although reported rates of bloodstream infection related to peripheral intravenous catheters are much lower than those attributed to central venous catheters, the exponentially higher use of peripheral intravenous catheters indicates that the absolute number of peripheral venous catheter-related bloodstream infections is likely as high as and may surpass the number of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections, with significant associated morbidity and mortality.
 
  Sustained improvements in outcomes related to peripheral intravenous catheters will depend on recognition of the root causes of failure and increased commitment to practice patterns consistent with infusion therapy standards of practice, effective education about peripheral intravenous catheters, accurate documentation of all aspects of peripheral intravenous catheter management, and consistent surveillance of patient outcomes related to peripheral intravenous catheters.
 
  This article reviews the significant burden of peripheral intravenous catheter infections, barriers to effective peripheral intravenous catheter management, and current evidence-based recommendations to prevent this source of patient harm.
 This article reviews the significant burden of peripheral intravenous catheter infections, barriers to effective peripheral intravenous catheter management, and current evidence-based recommendations to prevent this source of patient harm.
  Although diaries are an evidence-based practice that improves the quality of life of patients in an intensive care unit and their loved ones, centers in the United States are struggling to successfully implement diary programs in intensive care units. Currently, few published recommendations address how to facilitate implementation of a diary program, and how to effectively sustain it, in an intensive care unit.
 
  To discuss challenges with implementing diary programs in intensive care units at 2 institutions in the United States, and to identify solutions that were operationalized to overcome these perceived difficulties.
 
  The teams from the 2 institutions identified local barriers to implementing diaries in their intensive care units. Both groups developed standard operating procedures that outlined the execution and evaluation phases of their implementation projects.
 
  Barriers to implementation include liability and patient privacy, diary program development, and implementation and sustainability concerns. Various strategies can help maintain clinical and family member engagement.
 
  Through a team's sustained dedication and a diligent assessment of perceived obstacles, a diary program can indeed be implemented within an intensive care unit.
 Through a team's sustained dedication and a diligent assessment of perceived obstacles, a diary program can indeed be implemented within an intensive care unit.Peripheral intravenous catheter placement is a skill that is used daily in the hospital. However, many nurses face the challenge of cannulating increasingly complex and difficult-to-access vasculature. Although emergency department clinicians have been using ultrasound to facilitate this procedure for the last 18 years, ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheter placement has not been as rapidly adopted in the critical and acute care nursing realms. Given the benefits of this procedure, including increased patient satisfaction and reduced use of central catheters, its use should be encouraged among all acute care clinicians. The aim of this article is to provide the bedside nurse with a basic understanding of the techniques involved in placing ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous catheters in patients with difficult venous access.